Now we await the big Ferrari announcement at Monza. Kimi must surely be announced now - but alonside Schuey or Massa. If Schuey doesn't retire then Massa must be pretty gutted. Relegated to either a test role or a minor F1 team drive next year right after wining his first GP if Schuey stays on. If he's happy to do that then perhaps he has a deal that he wil lget a ful time Ferraris eat alongside Kimi in 2008 if Michael stays on for one more year.

Certainly by all accounts, prior to the Turkish GP start, Massa didn't look like a driver under the pressure of losing his seat - in fact very relaxed, as his performance suggested. Does this mean that Schuey is going to make this his last season then ??

Just when I thought I could see light at the end of the tunnel, it was some B*****d with a torch bringing me more work

Quoting Cornish (Thread starter):Does this mean that Schuey is going to make this his last season then ??

Well this could possibly be the case...and rumours are, that he will pronounce it this weekend. Well, looking at his statistics, I suspect he can be pretty sure NOT to lose most of his top positions (number of WCs, number of GP wins, of Pole Positions of whatnot) in a veeeery long time.

Quoting Andreas (Reply 3):Well, looking at his statistics, I suspect he can be pretty sure NOT to lose most of his top positions (number of WCs, number of GP wins, of Pole Positions of whatnot) in a veeeery long time.

If ever.

I'm really interested to see how Kovaleinen will do next season. Straight into a top-line drive after a season as test driver. He was beaten to the GP2 crown by rosberg last year, but it was generally regarded that Rosberg's team had found a very definite car advantage and that Kovaleinen is ultimately the better driver. That remains to be seen of course, and Renault are confident that they have a real talent on their hands.

However there are plenty of drivers who've been the next big thing that have burst into F1 and proved to be a big disappointment. Lets hope Heikki proves to be more of a Kimi or Alonso or Schuey, rather than a Magnussen or Modena.

Just when I thought I could see light at the end of the tunnel, it was some B*****d with a torch bringing me more work

Quoting Cornish (Reply 4):Lets hope Heikki proves to be more of a Kimi or Alonso or Schuey, rather than a Magnussen or Modena.

Or another famous supertalent, Jean Alesi, crowd pleaser like no other, rain driver par excellence, nearly on a par with Schu and Senna, but, as a famous Austrian Racing Journalist once said about him:

Alesi got hold of the "Great Book about winning the WC"...he read some parts 100s of times and knows them by heart...and others he just skipped.

In the end you need 20 REAL top talents to create one REAL superstar, like Alonso or Kimi...and 100 to create a mega-champion like Schu or Senna

Well, according to the Uber-reliable "Bild"-Zeitung, Schumi will be announcing his retirement after the race in Monza if he finishes under the Top 3. Take it with a grain of salt, though I think that for once "Bild" might actually be correct .

Quoting BA757 (Reply 6):Probably, but you still can't rule out Raikkonen remaining at Mclaren. It's still possible, though unlikely.

The next big question, who will be partnering Alonso at Mclaren next season?

It will need some seriously big money I suspect for him to stay - but by all accounts the relationship between him and Ron Dennis is shot to pieces.

But siging Aloso has made it far less imperative for McLaren to keep Kimi.

Quoting Andreas (Reply 7):Or another famous supertalent, Jean Alesi, crowd pleaser like no other, rain driver par excellence, nearly on a par with Schu and Senna, but, as a famous Austrian Racing Journalist once said about him:

Alesi got hold of the "Great Book about winning the WC"...he read some parts 100s of times and knows them by heart...and others he just skipped.

All that talent and just one GP win to show for it. But he always drove with his heart rather thn his brain. That's why in 1990 when all the leading teams wanted to sign him he chose Ferrari just as they hit rock bottom for the next few seasons rather than Williams who then embarked on the most successful period in their history. Oops !

Just when I thought I could see light at the end of the tunnel, it was some B*****d with a torch bringing me more work

Quoting Cornish (Reply 9):when all the leading teams wanted to sign him he chose Ferrari just as they hit rock bottom for the next few seasons rather than Williams who then embarked on the most successful period in their history. Oops !

Just when he came to the part about successful teaming he fell asleep...poor boy!

I won't watch the race, but it's going to be fun to find out IF Ferrari finally manages to get their act together and get far ahead of Alonso to regain points.....it's about time!

Quote:
Michael Schumacher will probably hang up his helmet at the end of the season regardless of whether he wins the World title, according to Flavio Briatore.

The Renault team boss, who guided Schumacher to his first two World titles with Benetton, believes the Ferrari driver is starting to make too many mistakes and because of that, he should quit. In fact, Briatore believes he will.

"He is not the same as he was four or five seasons ago, so for me it would be better if he stopped. That is what he will probably do at Monza," Briatore told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Schumacher did not used to make these errors, and after many years of F1 he knows that his new, young and terrifying rivals push hard, they are hungry and have nothing to lose."

Meanwhile, Schumacher's former team-mate Johnny Herbert agrees that the German has a lot more to lose than F1's younger drivers and believes that should he win the title, Schumi should quit.

"Last time when Schumacher had the chance to retire at the top he didn't take it and that was a big mistake," he told The People newspaper.

"Michael needs to make sure that he doesn't carry on and ruin his reputation as one of the best drivers around because once you fail to quit at the top there is no turning back time.

"It's difficult to know when to quit, but if Michael claims the crown this year then he will have to walk away from F1 as a Champion."

Hopefully he will stop racing as it is time for him to call it aday, however it would be nice to see him remain in the team as a diector or something but I guess we will not see that for another few years or so.

Can you say 'Beer Can' without sounding like a Jamaican saying 'Bacon'?

I fondly recall attending the F1 race at Monza in the early 1990s. What an experience! But F1 has not appealed to me in recent years. I'll come back to F1 when Marco Andretti signs with a top team, which is only a matter of time . . .

Maggs swings, it's a drive deep to left! The Tigers are going to the World Series!!!

No surprises about Kovalainen getting the race seat at Renault. It's now time to wonder about McLaren. The Ferrari driver line up is unlikley to spring any surprises. However is MS dosn't stay, it could be a real possibility that KR stays on at McLaren for another year unless Ferrari abolish their team orders with a view to building the team around KR like they've done with MS.

Quoting Bill142 (Reply 17):It's now time to wonder about McLaren. The Ferrari driver line up is unlikley to spring any surprises. However is MS dosn't stay, it could be a real possibility that KR stays on at McLaren for another year unless Ferrari abolish their team orders with a view to building the team around KR like they've done with MS.

I don't think so ... Kimi & Alonso to go head to head at McLaren would be every fan's dream, even more so than the prospect of JPM & Kimi at McLaren did. Can't see Ron Dennis lining up these two together at all.

My thoughts are, if Schumi wants to go on, he'll have to accept equal number one at Ferrari alongside Raikkonen.

If you were Montezomolo you'd have the bigger picture to worry about, ie what happens to Ferrari (financially, competitively, etc etc) after the Schumacher era is over (which may coincide with the end of the Todt/Brawn era too). You simply can't squander a multi-billion dollar business's future by sticking to what's always happened in the past.

I too am looking towards a Michael Schumacher retirement announcement after the race at Monza. And to announce it after a victory at the Ferrari heartland whilst working towards winning one final World Championship for the Scuderia would be a fitting end to a great career. (Although, of course, he has to win it first)

Massa will just have to sit it out a year - he'll still only be 27 in 2008 and already an F1 veteran with the best outfit, and a driver who's getting better and better all the times. Who knows? He may even be as fast as Raikkonen ... now that is a tantalising prospect.

Quoting HKGKaiTak (Reply 18):My thoughts are, if Schumi wants to go on, he'll have to accept equal number one at Ferrari alongside Raikkonen.

If you were Montezomolo you'd have the bigger picture to worry about, ie what happens to Ferrari (financially, competitively, etc etc) after the Schumacher era is over (which may coincide with the end of the Todt/Brawn era too). You simply can't squander a multi-billion dollar business's future by sticking to what's always happened in the past.

Ferrari have to start future planning. Drafting Raikkonen and the building the team around him with MS still in the team isn't a bad idea. MS will simply have to accept a lesser amount of support. If he truly cares about the sucess and future of the team, he will race Raikkonen and allow the team to give KR the same support he enjoys.

Quoting HKGKaiTak (Reply 18):Massa will just have to sit it out a year - he'll still only be 27 in 2008 and already an F1 veteran with the best outfit, and a driver who's getting better and better all the times. Who knows? He may even be as fast as Raikkonen ... now that is a tantalising prospect.

He's already sat out a year before. If he knows he has a guaranteed seat in 2008, he'll probably accept it.

Quoting Bill142 (Reply 19):He's already sat out a year before. If he knows he has a guaranteed seat in 2008, he'll probably accept it.

He's sat out twice before to test for Ferrari ... but that was when he was a fast driver who stuffs up big time every second race. Not as someone who has beaten Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso to his maiden Grand Prix victory.

Still, I'm sure the Todts would pay him very very handsomely to sit on the sidelines for a year.

Flav: We came close to signing Kimi
Flavio Briatore has admitted that Renault came close to signing Kimi Raikkonen before the Finn finally opted to sign for Ferrari.

The 26-year-old is expected to be announced as part of Ferrari's 2007 driver line-up after the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, but Briatore claims that his last ditch swoop to sign Kimi came close to convincing him to change his mind.

"It was close enough to feel that we lost," Briatore told ITV Sport.

"We didn't expect Fernando [Alonso] to go and we moved a bit late."

Alonso announced late last year that he had signed a multi-year deal with McLaren-Mercedes, while Renault was still under its previous presidency and before the French manufacturer had committed to F1 long-term.

By the time Carlos Ghosn took over in May and committed Renault to the sport until at least 2008, Alonso was long gone.

Briatore believes however that had circumstances been different then, instead of missing out on both Alonso and Raikkonen, he would instead have secured a "dream team".

"My dream was to have Fernando and Kimi but it was not possible," he revealed.

"If the stability of the team management we have now had been in place then, then I think we could have kept him [Alonso].

Quoting BA757 (Reply 22):Damn it, I'd much rather he see him in a Renault than a Ferrari!

Yea same!!!

Vettel is still on top after his test session at the last grandprix. He has set the top times in both sessions today, although barely any ace drivers took part in the first session. Things aren't looking good for the 2007 spec honda engine, as Davidson managed to destroy two engines, one each during seach session. (although not his fault)

Can you say 'Beer Can' without sounding like a Jamaican saying 'Bacon'?